Jean Martin (nee Butler)

September 5, 2022
1932-2022  ~  Jean passed quietly on September 5th at the age of 90.
She was born in Prince Rupert and raised in Alice Arm where her father was the Government Telegrapher and her mother was the postmistress. She moved to Prince Rupert in 1949, and was a member of the 75-50 club.
Jean married Dave in 1952 and their family soon followed. Despite the tragedies of her early life, she and Dave built a good life together. They owned Dave's Fuel Service for many years and Jean's natural talent for bookkeeping and accounting helped the business thrive.
After they sold the business, she went again into accounting and then insurance.
In 1970, Dave found the MV Beach Tramp, and they spent the following years traveling with friends and kids to a different place every weekend of the summer. It was a wonderful gypsy life, and a wonderful way to see the coast.
In 1980 they bought their cottage on Porcher Island and subsequently spent summers there and winters in town. At the cottage, Jean grew a huge vegetable garden. She had an incredible green thumb and could grow just about anything.
Jean was passionate about the environment and was on the Prince Rupert Recycling Committee that brought recycling to this area. She remained on the Waste Management advisory committee of the Regional District until a few years ago. For several years she wrote a column called Green Corner for the newspaper Prince Rupert This Week. She also had several short stories published in North Coast Writers Group collections.
Jean was predeceased by Dave in 2012, by her father Herb in 1942, her mother Jessie in 1986, her brother Herb in 1949 and her sister Jessie in 2019.
She is survived by her children Jim (Trudy), Bill (Sylvia) and Sheila (Herman), her grandchildren Heather, Robyn and Britt Martin, Andrew Oates (Alistair), Hans and Erin Seidemann, Aurora (Kristian) Martin, and Reuben Copley (Glenys).
Great grandchildren Gunnar, Sam and Ridley, her cousin Marj (Bert) Spisak, her nephew Herb Boshier, nieces Alice Boshier, Karen Vandette and Rita Van Summeren, several dear friends, and Remy, her furry companion.
Jean spent the last 18 months living in Acropolis Manor. Her family would like to thank the staff and management for their incredible kindness and caring. They all looked after Jean like she was their own, and cared for her family as well. You are all angels and rock stars, and will always be in our hearts.
Jean loved animals. Many of her pets were from the SPCA and she was a strong supporter of that institution. She was also a patron and advocate for the Prince Rupert Library. In lieu of flowers, donations to either of those would be appreciated.
A memorial service was held on Saturday September 10th at First United Church in Prince Rupert at 1:30.